Valene Ewing
Valene "Val" Ewing (maiden name Clements, formerly Gibson, Waleska), portrayed by Joan Van Ark, is the mother of Lucy Ewing and the wife of Gary Ewing (the second son of oil baron Jock and Miss Ellie Ewing). Van Ark made several guest appearances on Dallas before becoming one of the main stars of the spin-off Knots Landing in December 1979, though she continued to make small appearances in Dallas for the next couple of years. Van Ark played Valene in Knots Landing for thirteen of its fourteen seasons, which made her one of the show's longest running stars. The character made her last television appearance in 1997, when she appeared in the reunion miniseries Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac. In 2013, Van Ark reprised her character for the new, updated version of Dallas. Van Ark received positive reviews for her portrayal of Valene, and received two Soap Opera Digest award nominations in the category "Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role on a Prime Time Serial". Greg Hernandez said, "Her character of Valene was a best-selling author, but her personal life was always a mess. She had her husband, Gary, stolen by another woman, then got pregnant by him, her twin babies were kidnapped by a crooked doctor, she was given a drug overdose at gunpoint by her ex-husband's fiancee, and she racked up enough marriages to give Elizabeth Taylor a run for her money. But she and Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford) made for one of television's most beloved couples and the audience never stopped rooting for them to get back together." History Backstory Born to Jeremiah and Lilimae Clements in 1945, Valene suffered a tumultuous upbringing. In particular, her childhood was marred by her mother's singing aspirations, which caused a major rift early on in their relationship. After the death of her father, Valene would be bounced between relatives, namely her Aunt June (“Will the Circle Be Unbroken”). Although never explicitly stated during the timeline of the show, it can be presumed that Valene’s other aunt, Virginia Bullock, also took part in raising her due to their close relationship. At some point as Lilimae pursued her career away from home, she met and fell in love with a preacher; Jonathan J. Rush. Lilimae began to settle into a new family, as she joined Jonathan’s congregation and gave birth to a son, Joshua Rush. For a year Lilimae raised Joshua, and lived under the guise of Jonathan’s wife. Eventually a travelling act came through town, and Lilimae abandoned her second family. Valene would not learn of her half-brother’s existence for several decades. As Valene moved into her teenage years, she would leave high school at an early age. Taking a job at a local diner, Valene would live out an unremarkable existence until she met Gary Ewing; the middle brother of the infamous Ewing family. Gary noticed a clearly overworked Valene at the diner, and offered to help. This would be the start of a brief courtship, which would result in Valene’s first marriage to Gary at the young age of 15 in 1961. Shortly after, Valene would give birth to their first child; Lucy. Eventually Gary would bring both child and mother to his home, Southfork ranch near Dallas, Texas. Their marriage was met with open hostility from the Ewing family, namely Gary’s older brother, John Ross "J.R." Ewing, Jr, who resented Valene’s lowly lineage. Pressure within the household would result in the beginning of Gary’s alcohol abuse, and his eventual disappearance from Southfork. Realising her time at Southfork was short with her tie to the Ewing family gone, Valene left the ranch with Lucy and sought refuge with Lilimae, who was living in Virginia at the time. Valene was turned away by her mother as she consulted with her current manager, concerned that being a grandmother would affect her working image. J.R.’s men then caught up with Valene, and stole Lucy back to Southfork to be raised as a Ewing. Valene was warned to never set foot in Texas again, and Lucy was raised by her paternal grandparents; Eleanor "Miss Ellie" Ewing and John Ross "Jock" Ewing, Sr. Not much is known about the time period in Valene’s life between Lucy being stolen and returning to Dallas. She would, however, briefly date a rancher, ‘Rusty’, in 1970. Valene would eventually build the courage to seek out her daughter in 1978, and returned to Dallas in spite of J.R.’s warnings. Return to Southfork Valene resolved to make contact with her estranged daughter Lucy in 1978. Waiting outside of her high school, Valene approached Lucy and made herself known. Valene would take a job at a local diner, the Hot Biscuit, and the two would begin to reconnect. Fearful of J.R.'s reaction, their meetings were held under secretive conditions. Simultaneous to these events, Gary ran into his younger brother Bobby Ewing and his new wife Pamela Barnes Ewing in Las Vegas. Having gotten his alcoholism under control, Gary agreed to return to Southfork after some persuasion from his brother. After reuniting with her father, Lucy sees an opportunity to bring her parents back together. Gary and Valene reunite after almost 17 years, and Valene too agrees to return to Southfork. J.R. is not thrilled at the return of his brother Gary, fearful for his leadership position at Ewing Oil, feeling that Bobby is enough to contend with. Valene's return merely spurs him on to remove them both from the ranch once again. J.R. resurrects a failed subsidiary of Ewing Oil and places Gary in charge, hoping to inspire his alcoholic tendencies when the company inevitably fails. Valene is immediately concerned after J.R. announces Gary's new position, and suggests the pair move to California. Gary dismisses Valene's concerns, firmly believing J.R. has changed. J.R.'s plan works however, and Gary cracks under pressure. Although coming close to drinking due to the stressful workload, Gary restrains himself and realises he cannot make a future for himself at Southfork. He leaves the ranch once more, although he and Valene part on good terms. With history repeating itself, a furious Valene confronts J.R. over his treatment of both her and Gary as he drives her from the ranch a second time. J.R. engineers the situation to appear as though Valene has accepted a cash settlement in return for leaving the ranch, souring Valene and Lucy's newly reignited relationship ("Reunion, Part II"). Valene would later write Lucy detailing what had actually transpired, which would cause Lucy to briefly run away from home in an effort to be with her mother. Lucy never found her mother. Valene does not return for a year, and Lucy settles into resenting her mother, believing J.R.'s story. When Valene does eventually return the two have an emotional exchange, and an upset Lucy questions her continuous abandonment. Valene takes up residence in a local motel and takes a job at a local cafe, determined to reconnect with her daughter. She contacts Bobby, and sets up a meeting in which he agrees to bring Valene to Lucy's cheer-leading practice. Lucy still refuses to see her mother, and J.R. is alerted to Valene's return to Dallas. Back at Southfork, Lucy finally agrees to meet with her mother, as J.R. arrives at Valene's motel. J.R. intimidates Valene once again, and intimates violent measures if she does not agree to leave. A defiant Valene stands her ground, tired of being unable to see her daughter. Unbeknownst to them, Lucy has viewed the entire exchange from the doorway and realises her mother's innocence. Valene and Lucy embrace as they profess to rebuild their relationship. Valene and Gary soon have a full reconciliation, and move in together in an apartment in Dallas. Their reunion is kept secret however, even from Lucy, due to their turbulent history with the Ewing family. As Valene and Lucy continue their meetings, a forlorn Miss Ellie considers her lack of a relationship with her son, Gary, as his birthday approaches. She accompanies Lucy to meet Valene, in which she implores her to convince Gary to speak to her. An initially skeptical Gary agrees to meeting his mother, and then proposes a second marriage to Valene. As Miss Ellie realises that a newlywed Gary would not settle in well at Southfork or in Dallas she offers to buy the couple a house in California, as reparation for the Ewing family's behaviour over the years. The couple modestly accept, and are married soon after, with much of Gary's immediate family present. Gary and Valene fly to California with Bobby to view various houses, and eventually settle on 16966 Seaview Circle. Knots Landing After their remarriage, Gary and Valene move to Knots Landing, a coastal suburb of Los Angeles, California. Valene is initially skeptical of the move, and describes Knots Landing as "no place to start over". She is struck by her neighbors, the Fairgates, and particularly by Sid's daughter, Annie, from Sid's first marriage, who reminds Val of her own daughter, Lucy. Gary is determined to stay and convinces Val to give Knots Landing a chance. Val becomes involved in Jimmy Carter's 1980 re-election effort, joining the local chapter of the Carter-Mondale '80 campaign. She also signs up neighbor Karen Fairgate (Michele Lee) and the pair eventually become best friends, a relationship struck when Annie, on the run, turns to Val for help, and Val convinces her to return to her father and stepmother. Val remained a central character on the show from 1979 to 1992. Gary and Val's daughter, Lucy, visits her parents in Knots Landing and appears in one episode in the show's first season. Though largely uneducated, Valene discovers she has a talent for writing and writes a thinly veiled expose of the Ewings of Dallas called "Capricorn Crude". Gary is extremely critical of the book, which affects their marriage. However, the book is published and Val becomes a best-selling novelist and financially independent. Val leaves Gary after Gary's affair with his neighbor and business partner, Abby Cunningham (Donna Mills); and Val keeps the house in Seaview Circle. Gary and Val's second marriage ended in divorce nearly a year later. Val is subsequently married to Ben Gibson (Doug Sheehan) (1985-1987), and later briefly to Danny Waleska (Sam Behrens) (1990). One of Val's most memorable storylines occurs during the 1984-85 season when she is told that her infant twins are stillborn. Val senses that this could not be true as she clearly remembers hearing the babies cry. She suffers a nervous breakdown and disappears from Knots Landing for several months, and is later reunited with her babies, thanks largely to the investigations secretly undertaken by her neighbors Mack and Karen MacKenzie. In 1991, over 8 years after their second divorce, Gary and Val got married for the third time (Valene's fifth marriage, and Gary's fourth). While working on an assignment to write a biography about Greg Sumner (William Devane) in 1992, Valene crosses paths with some mafioso type characters who are targeting Sumner. Fearing that she could expose them, they kidnap Val and she is later believed to have died in a car accident. Joan Van Ark had decided to leave the series in 1992, at the end of Season 13, which turned out to be the show's penultimate season. However, Van Ark came back in the 2-part finale to the show's final season in 1993, when it was discovered that Val was never in the car. Having escaped her kidnappers, she later returns to the cul-de-sac. Valene is seen once again in the 1997 reunion mini-series Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac where she begins a new career as a screenwriter and adapts her best-selling novel "Hostage", which tells the story of her kidnapping five years earlier, into a film. Dallas (2012 Series) In 2013, it transpires Gary and Valene have separated again due to Gary falling off the wagon. Sue Ellen Ewing (Linda Gray) calls Val on behalf of Gary, to tell her that Gary misses her. Val shows up at Southfork with her daughter Lucy, where Gary coldly refuses to return home with her. Val realizes she has returned to Dallas under false pretenses and confronts Sue Ellen, who tells her to resume her relationship with Gary while she still has the chance. References External links Category:First Series Characters Category:Ewing family Category:Knots Landing characters Category:Second Series Characters Category:Residents of Southfork Ranch Category:Recurring characters